Another win at the 24 Hours of Spa for ROWE Racing

ROWE Racing had the 24 Hours of Spa in 2016 and 2020, and added the third one to the collection this weekend in way less dramatic fashion than its last one, with not only a flawless pit strategy doing the work, but also competent performances from Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly in the No. 98 BMW M4 GT3 amid a highly competitive field that saw most of the contenders staying on track in what is the crown jewel of the FANATEC GT World Challenge Europe and Intercontinental GT Challenge calendars.
 
With some serious rain falling down at Spa-Francorchamps until a few hours before the race and making thing pretty difficult for the support series in action on Saturday, the idea was to go for rain tires, but once the water stopped falling the track dried quickly with just some points outside the racing line staying slippery, which created a dillemma for the teams as to whether it was better to start on slicks.
 
It was supposed to be a start with two Safety Car laps to then launch the field, but when the No. 216 Modena Porsche spun and the No. 132 GMG Porsche crashed at Radillion, the caution period was extended to more than 20 minutes, with some of the cars at the back changing tires to get newer compounds for the start.
 
Matteo Cairoli carried the No. 20 Huber Porsche into an uncommon overall lead for a Bronze Cup car during the first hour, but was passed by the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini as their early stop for tires came as a benefit when the field started to stop, only to park momentarily as it needed some checks in the garage due to a brake problem, which brough the No. 20 back to the lead until the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari passed it.
 
With the No. 51 suffering a puncture and the No. 20 being penalized for short refuelling, the No. 40 Tresor Audi took the lead when the second hour was about to end. Eventually the No. 40 lost pace and was reached by a pack led by the No. 17 Scherer PHX Audi, but Nicki Thiim didn’t pass the No. 40 alone as the No. 92 Manthey EMA Porsche had Kevin Estre doing everything and some more to stay all over the Audi’s back wing, While the polesitter No. 20 Huber Porsche and other Bronze Cup cars were falling off, the No. 188 Garage 59 McLaren  was the last resistance of the class as Henrique Chaves was keeping it in the top-5 overall until the fourth hour, when it fell off to eighth.
 
With pit stop tactics spreading more and more as the night was coming, the No. 98 ROWE BMW became the new leader, and the merry go round would eventually put the No. 92 Manthey EMA Porsche in front after it passed the No. 17 Scherer PHX Audi, only for the Audi to recover the position when the No. 92 was penalized in 30 seconds for track limit abuse, but the threat over the No. 17 wasn’t over as the No. 32 WRT BMW came closer and closer and made the overtake in the sixth hour. The No. 17 would have the company of the No. 32, the ROWE’s No. 998 and 98 BMWs, the No. 40 Tresor Audi and the No. 88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes, which became the leader in the subsequent hours before the halfway part.
 
On hour 11 a big crash at Kemmel involved the No. 32 WRT BMW and the No. 998 ROWE BMW, effectively taking out both cars, forcing the circuit crew to work on the barriers and bringing the cars to the pits for the mandatory brake change, with WRT starting the procedures for its remaining cars. Barrier repairs took long enough to see the dawn illuminate Spa-Francorchamps again, and the race returned to green with 11 hours to go, with the No. 777 Al Manar Mercedes, the No. 96 Rutronik Porsche and the No. 6 K-PAX Lamborghini infiltrating themselves in the top car cycle.
 
While at least 10 cars could be counted as switching position between cycles, the No. 40 Tresor Audi and the No. 17 Scherer PHX Audi were standing out as the ones ahead and trying to build some sort of gap to the rest. With the No. 188 Garage 59 McLaren going down the Bronze Cup table in the early morning, the No. 91 Herberth Porsche took the Bronze Cup lead, and with the No. 5 Optimum McLaren leading the Gold Cup a bit ahead, both were rounding the overall top-10 while still not being mixed in the position change cycle of the top contenders.
 
With four hours to go the No. 98 ROWE BMW was the leading candidate for the win based on the pitstop cycle, but a Safety Car period allowed Tresor to adjust the No. 40’s pit strategy with some other cars following suit, even if it meant relinquishing the on track lead to the No. 98, though Akkodis ASP decided to pit the No. 88 Mercedes at a more sensible interval and left it in second place, with pace enough to close down on the No. 98 on track.
 
The No. 98 ROWE BMW kept the lead for the final hours as the competition was preparing their moves to compensate the gap of at least 20 seconds to the leader, but Jules Gounon could hardly do anything to counter Philipp Eng, so the No. 88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes had to settle for second while the No. 17 Scherer PHX Audi was totally on the defensive as Nicki Thiim had Kevin Estre in the No. 92 Manthey EMA Porsche all over him for third overall.
 
Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa - Race results
 
The No. 5 Optimum McLaren remained unchallenged in the Gold Cup, with some clear gap to the No. 30 WRT BMW while also achieving a top-10 overall. The No. 20 Huber Porsche countered the No. 911 Pure Porsche to crown the recovery for Bronze Cup honors after the fall of the No. 91 Herberth Porsche in the final hours, and the No. 85 GRT Lamborghini remained in the top-20 overall to win the Silver Cup.
 
After a race against time after having a totaled chassis during practice, the No. 75 SunEnergy Mercedes secured Pro-Am Cup honors with an emergency car being called by an injured Kenny Habul, with Nicky Catsburg carrying the team in an impressive manner during his stints.
 
In two weeks time, the Endurance Cup returns to action as the Nürburgring will be the next venue in the calendar.
 
PHOTO: SRO/Jules Benichou